Black Friday Bay Area store hours: A comprehensive list
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OAKLAND, Calif. - For many Americans, the Christmas shopping season gets underway in earnest the day after Thanksgiving, as consumers seek discounts and deals to get the most bang out of their buck.
Big picture view:
As shoppers face inflation and tariff-driven price increases, Americans’ spending priorities may be shifting, with Black Friday events becoming more about finding deals to purchase everyday essentials than about holiday gift shopping.
By the numbers:
A recent survey found almost one in four consumers, 23%, said they plan to use Black Friday only for necessities and household basics like groceries and toiletries.
Almost half of those surveyed, 47%, said they plan to split their spending between everyday essentials and premium items, according to retail point-of-sale and payments company Lightspeed.
Another survey suggests concerns about tariffs remain a top concern among U.S. consumers.
The National Retail Federation found 85% of those surveyed anticipate higher prices because of tariffs.
63% plan to wait until Thanksgiving weekend to do most of their holiday shopping. That’s up from 59% last year.
Origins of Black Friday
The backstory:
The origin of the term "Black Friday" as it relates to shopping, goes back to the 1950s in Philadelphia.
According to History.com, it was coined by Philadelphia police, who used the term to describe the chaotic scenes of suburban shoppers and tourists who converged in the city for post-Thanksgiving shopping. The huge crowds were also made up of those who arrived in the city ahead of the annual Army vs. Navy football game which was long held in Philadelphia on that Saturday after the holiday.
There were efforts to reframe Black Friday with a more positive connotation by instead calling it "Big Friday." But that never caught on, according to historians, and Black Friday remained a mostly Philly term. It would be decades before the rest of the country would adopt the phrase, after retailers decided to claim and reshape its meaning.
In the late 1980s, retail companies embraced the term as it flipped the idea of being in the red when it came to end of the year profits, and instead described it as being in the black with last minute holiday shopping boosting sales.
"The result was the ‘red to black’ concept," according to History.com, "and the notion that the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when America’s stores finally turned a profit."
The shopping event would emerge into somewhat of an American tradition, with stores opening at midnight and dedicated deal hunters camping out post-Thanksgiving dinner to take advantage of door buster bonanzas.
It would not be an uncommon scene to see chaotic mobs of shoppers crashing through store doors at opening, knocking people down and clamoring to get their hands on limited deals.
COVID-driven evolution
Dig deeper:
That practice largely ended with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic's stay-at-home orders. Thereafter, online shopping grew to become a more popular and convenient option. In addition, businesses adopted special online sales and discount events like "Cyber Monday," the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Still, in-person discount hunting shopping outings have remained an event on the day after Thanksgiving, though retailers have made adjustments, foregoing late-night Thanksgiving openings and instead operating on extended hours the following day.
For those who plan to brave the shopping masses to take advantage of in-store deals, KTVU has compiled a comprehensive list of Black Friday hours for many major Bay Area stores and shopping centers.
Shopping centers and malls
Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek
8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Sunvalley Shopping Center in Concord
9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Hours vary from business to business.
- Old Navy 5 a.m. - 10 p.m.
- J.Crew Factory 6 a.m. - 8.p.m.
- Banana Republic Factory Outlet 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
- Barnes & Noble 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
- Cost Plus World Market 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
- Sephora 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton
6 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Santa Rosa Plaza in Santa Rosa
6 a.m. - 9 p.m.
10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Stonestown Galleria in San Francisco
9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto
8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
6 a.m. - 9 p.m.
9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara
7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Some restaurants, Mastros, Kings Fish, Eataly, and Alamo, plan to open on Thanksgiving Day, a mall spokesperson noted.
The shopping area will open 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. Some shops will open early for "super savings," a spokesperson for the shopping area told KTVU.
Seven restaurants are offering dine-in or take-home options on Thanksgiving Day.
Outlets
San Francisco Premium Outlets in Livermore
6 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Vacaville Premium Outlets in Vacaville
6 a.m. - 9 p.m.
8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Gilroy Premium Outlets in Gilroy
6 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Petaluma Village Premium Outlets in Petaluma
8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Hours vary from business to business.
- Nike Clearance Store: 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
- Converse 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
- T-Mobile 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
- Marshalls 9:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
- Nordstrom Rack 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Other chain retailers
6 a.m. - 10 p.m.
6 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Hours may vary by location, so check your specific store for the most up-to-date operating schedule.
"Stores will be opening earlier and staying open later, with extended weekend hours as well," a spokesperson for the department chain told KTVU, advising shoppers to visit the company's store locator page for specific hours by location.
In general, stores will operate with extended hours starting at 6 a.m. through 10 p.m. The retailer noted that hours will vary by location.
5 a.m. - 11:59 p.m.
A company spokesperson said store hours may vary by location and encouraged shoppers to double-check Kohl’s website.
All JCPenney stores will open their doors at 5 a.m., the shopping retailer said, noting that closing times vary by location.
6 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Store hours may vary by location, so check your specific store for the latest.
7 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Hours may vary by location, and customers should visit retail stores’ websites for details on a specific location.
9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
6 a.m. - 10 p.m.
"Each Sephora location operates according to its own standalone or mall hours, which may vary by region," a spokesperson for the beauty product company said. To find Black Friday hours for a store near you, check Sephora's store locator.
Specific hours can be found on Costco's warehouse locator. "If there is any change in hours, it will be noted under the hours of the specific warehouse," a company spokesperson told KTVU.
Stores will open at its regular hours at 6 a.m., though a company spokesperson said customers can shop one-day-only deals online on Thanksgiving Day, with MyLowe’s Rewards and MyLowe’s Pro Rewards members receiving exclusive early online access to Black Friday doorbuster deals.
Stores will operate on regular hours, a company spokesperson told KTVU, adding, "We always recommend customers confirm on our Store Locator as hours may vary by location."
Except for some restaurants located in shopping centers, all the businesses KTVU researched and reached out to plan to be closed on Thanksgiving Day.